FG To Hand Over Al-Qaeda Suspect To United States

The suspect identified as Lawal Olaniyi Babafemi,
aka "Abdullah" or "Ayatollah Mustapha", is alleged
to be a member of Al-Qaeda in the Arabian
Peninsula (AQAP) and has been indicted on four
charges in the United States, including supporting a
foreign terrorist group.

The 33-year-old is a citizen of Nigeria, where he is
currently in custody, the court documents say. A
hearing has been set in federal high court in the
Nigerian capital Abuja for August 28.

According to the documents, Babafemi traveled to
Yemen between January 2010 and August 2011 to
train with the Al-Qaeda group as well as to seek out
senior members Anwar al-Awlaqi and Samir Khan.

Yemeni-born American radical cleric al-Awlaqi as
well as Khan have since been killed in a drone strike.
In interviews with FBI agents, "Babafemi admitted
traveling to Yemen," the court documents say.

They add that he said "AQAP members gave him …
approximately $8,600 in order to return to Nigeria
and recruit English-speaking individuals to work in
AQAP's English-language media operation."

The four charges against him in the United States
include conspiracy to provide material support to a
foreign terrorist organisation and unlawful use of
firearms. The documents say he received firearms
training.

The indictment was filed in the United States on
February 21 in the US district court in the eastern
district of New York.

Court documents do not say how long Babafemi
had been in Nigeria before his arrest.

Local media reported that he had fled to Nigeria
when he learned of the arrest warrant against him
in the United States, but the information could not
be confirmed.

It would not be the first time a Nigerian has been
accused of acting on behalf of AQAP.

"Underwear bomber" Umar Farouk Abdulmutallab
has been sentenced to life in prison in the United
States over his failed attempt to blow up an airliner
on Christmas Day 2009.
Abdulmutallab traveled to Yemen in 2009 and met
with al-Awlaqi.

There was no indication in the documents that
Babafemi was linked to Nigerian extremist
group Boko Haram, which has been waging a
deadly insurgency mainly in the country's north.

Western nations have closely monitored links
between Boko Haram and outside extremist
groups.

Boko Haram members have trained with Al-
Qaeda's north African affiliate in Mali, but the extent
of any further cooperation remains unclear.

Nigeria is Africa's most populous nation, roughly
divided between a mainly Muslim north and
predominately Christian south.